The President of the Nigerian Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio has assured Nigerian women that the Gender Equality Bill that has over the years suffered setbacks on the floor of the Senate would be revisited by the 10th National Assembly which he leads.
He gave this assurance on Wednesday in his remark at the International Conference On Women in Governance organised by the National Institute For Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja.
Akpabio called on women, both in appointive and elective positions, in the administration led by President Bola Tinubu to get involved in the lobby process towards the actualisation of the bill.
He advised women to rally support for the aspirations of women contesting for elective offices since they have the population.
Akpabio reiterated his commitment to issues relating to improving the conditions of women in Nigeria as well as in political representation, the economy and governance.
‘Those familiar with my antecedents will undoubtedly attest to my passion for promoting gender equality in all aspects of life, especially in the public sector.’
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‘As a governor, I implemented a policy that deliberately favoured the appointment of women into key positions in my government.
‘This was in recognition of the immense contributions that women make towards the political, social and economic development of any state.
‘I have consistently argued that for Nigeria to become truly great, it must as a matter of urgency invest in women empowerment.’
He stated that the approach to the challenge of women’s unimpressive numbers in all levels of governance must go beyond mere tokenism of positions to genuine representation in which women’s voices are genuinely heard, valued and integrated into government policies and laws.
He said the authentic inclusion of women in political leadership would change the course of Nigeria towards meaningful transformation and sustained growth.